


birthday wishes

by mvrcredi



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Birthday, Fourth of July, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Short One Shot, Steve Rogers's Birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 16:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19479409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mvrcredi/pseuds/mvrcredi
Summary: Steve isn't exactly sure why everyone is wishing him a happy birthday. Theydoknow it isn't actually on the fourth of July, right?





	birthday wishes

Steve is eating breakfast when Clint delivers a friendly pat on his shoulder.

“Happy birthday, Cap. How old are you, now?” Clint teases, moving further into the kitchen to create some sort of monstrosity he might call breakfast. Last time it had been _Froot Loops_ and orange juice.

Steve furrows his brows, trying to decipher whether or not Clint was playing a prank on him, earning him a laugh from the archer.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Cap,” Clint snorts. “Memory fades over time, especially at your age.”

“My memory is eidetic,” Steve grumbles, and goes back to picking at his eggs. If Clint wishing him a happy birthday on the fourth of July was a play on his alter ego, so be it. It didn’t bother Steve all that much, unlike some of Clint’s other “hilarious” pranks.

At least, it hadn’t bothered Steve all that much until the other Avengers decided to join in on the joke as well. _Including_ his boyfriend, whom of all people he trusted not to be so annoying.

Natasha wishes him a happy birthday whilst they spar, joking around about him being too old to fight now—even though a year makes barely any difference for a supersoldier. He laughs her off, playing along, because the last thing he wanted was to lose their match and earn waves of endless teasing about his age. Not that he was any older, of course. And also, it was Natasha, so he’d rather not be castrated or anything.

Steve receives a quiet happy birthday thrown his way from Bruce when he goes to retrieve Tony from the lab—Tony hadn’t eaten anything yet that day, and Steve needed to make sure he was nourished. He thanks Bruce, albeit confusedly, and leaves the lab with Tony. Bruce never usually agreed to be in on Clint’s pranks. Steve supposed it was because it was such an easy and harmless prank to be a part of.

Steve sighs, adding a tired, “You too?” to his thanks when Thor and his booming presence wish him a happy birthday as well. Thor simply beams and tells him, “Of course! Why shouldn’t I express excitement for you on this special occasion?”

(Steve doesn’t have the heart to tell him off for taking Clint’s side.)

Only when Steve and Tony are cuddling in bed later that night—the Avengers never went out for fireworks for various reasons—does he finally understand what the whole birthday fiasco was about. Steve was honestly just glad it hadn’t escalated to a party.

“Steve, hon?” Tony asks him quietly.

“Yes?” he hums.

“Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

Steve scrunches his nose, face pinched in thought, trying to remember if there was anything he had said or done recently that might have elicited the question. He finally settles with, “No, why?”

“I just—“ Tony sighs, “you looked annoyed every time someone tried to wish you a happy birthday. Is something wrong?”

Steve rolls his eyes. “We’re alone, Tony. You know you don’t have to keep playing along, right?”

“Playing along? What do you mean playing along?” Tony snaps. “I’m not playing along to anything. I was just trying to see why you were being so grumpy on your birthday!”

That’s when everything clicks, and Steve finds himself curled up with laughter.

“You actually thought...? Oh dear _lord,”_ Steve cackles.

“What? What’s so funny?” Tony’s face was contorted, obviously offended Steve would laugh at him for his well-intentioned concern.

“Tony,” Steve giggles, exasperated, “my birthday isn’t until September.”

“Your birthday isn’t— _what?!”_ Tony screeches, smacking Steve’s chest. “But the records—“

“Right, and the government wouldn’t ever _lie,_ right?”

Tony pauses to let the information sink in. He searches Steve’s face for any sign of deception but discovers absolutely nothing of the sort. “So you’re telling me—“

“That my birthday was changed on official documents and records to make me seem more patriotic? Yes, that is exactly what I’m telling you,” Steve grins. Tony shakes his head, makes a gesture, and rolls over without another word. Steve watches him fondly, before settling down himself.

“We’re talking about this in the morning,” Tony mumbles.

“Alright, sweetheart. Goodnight,” Steve whispers, giving Tony’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before moving to drape his arm over Tony’s hip. His boyfriend grunts in response, not long before quiet snores fill the silence, and Steve finds himself lulling to sleep too.

**Author's Note:**

> i dunno. i just wanted to write something for cap's birthday without it actually being cap's birthday. 
> 
> either way, i hope you enjoyed! comments, kudos, and criticism are greatly appreciated! <3


End file.
